Five Ways to Generate WhatsApp Links! Which One Is Better for You?

As one of the most popular social media in the world, according to the latest statistics, WhatsApp has more than 2 billion active users and sends more than 100 billion messages every day. Therefore, when overseas companies handle business, WhatsApp is a very common communication channel. However, WhatsApp requires a phone number to add the other party, and many customers are not so willing to add friends/give others their phone numbers at the beginning.

However, there is now a way to simplify this process WhatsApp links. This is very helpful for businesses because they can start a WhatsApp conversation with potential customers immediately, simplifying a lot of steps. Let's talk about how to create a WhatsApp link.

If You Don't Have the Customer's Number: Share Your Link

Method 1: WhatsApp Business app share link

If the other party has already installed WhatsApp, we can create an account directly in the WhatsApp Business application, and the system will automatically generate a short link for the merchant organization. The other party only needs to click on the link to talk to you directly.

Steps: Find [Short Link] in [Business Tools]. Note that this feature can only be used for WhatsApp Business accounts.

Pros: Simple, official, fast to set up.

Best for: Small businesses and early-stage social commerce.

Method 2: SaleSmartly generates WhatsApp routing links

Because the official website directly generates links for WhatsApp Business accounts, if you also want to generate links for your account, you can use the Meta Business Partners-certified software SaleSmartly to generate them. SaleSmartly can also create diversion links, which can effectively receive inquiries on WhatsApp. This kind of link is associated with multiple WhatsApp accounts, and you can pre-set rules to divert customers who click on the link. The steps are as follows:

In [Robot] - [Split Link], click [Create Link]. Select WhatsApp App in the diversion channel, then select the WhatsApp account and click [Finish Creation]. Subsequent customers can also track data based on this link.

Pros: Multi-agent routing, customer source tracking, enhanced marketing workflows.

Best for: Cross-border eCommerce, customer service teams.

If You Have the Customer’s Number: Start the Chat Directly

Method 3: Create a WhatsApp link yourself

We can directly use the URL format of [https://wa.me/PHONENUMBER] and [https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=PHONENUMBER] to generate a WhatsApp link, where the [PHONENUMBER] field needs to contain the full phone number. When adding an international phone number, you need to omit 0, brackets, or dashes.

Example:

Correct format:

https://wa.me/1XXXXXXXXXXXX ,

https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=1XXXXXXXXXX

Wrong format: https://wa.me/+001-(XXX)XXXXXXX

Best for: Marketers or users experienced with link customization.

Method 4: Create a WhatsApp link with pre-filled content

To automatically display the pre-filled text in the conversation, you can use

[https://wa.me/Phone number?text=text content]

[https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=phone number&text=text content]

Phone number: Full phone number using international format

Text content: Just fill in the content you want to send. Both Chinese and English are supported.

Examples: 

https://wa.me/1XXXXXXXXXX?text=hello,SaleSmartly,

https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=1XXXXXXXXXX&text=hello,SaleSmartly

Then the link will jump to the page below. Just press [Continue Chat] to continue the call.

Best for: Product pages, landing pages, and advertising CTAs.

Method 5: Broadcast a Message Using a WhatsApp Link

If you don't want to send it to a specific phone, you can use the format [https://wa.me/?text=YOURTEXT]. After clicking the link, you can select the person you want to send it to from the contact list.

Example: https://wa.me/?text=hello,SaleSmartly

Best for: Social sharing, event invites, customer re-engagement.

Summarize

You can choose which WhatsApp link to create based on the specific situation, and please note that if the WhatsApp link is created online, some functions may not be available, such as broadcasting and group messaging. Therefore, it is recommended to use SaleSmartly to create it, which can not only retain the functions of the WhatsApp App but also aggregate account information to facilitate employees' external communication.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Why doesn’t the WhatsApp link work when I click it?

A: It’s usually due to incorrect phone number formatting (e.g., including +, spaces, or symbols), missing URL encoding for non-English characters, or WhatsApp not being installed on the device. Use a tool like SaleSmartly to auto-format and eliminate these issues.

Q2: Are these links secure? Is there a privacy risk?

A: WhatsApp links do not expose user data, and sending a message is entirely voluntary. For better compliance and data control, use tools with built-in permission and privacy management like SaleSmartly.

Further Reading

WhatsApp Template Message Application Collection: Better Reach WhatsApp Customers

WhatsApp Business Account Blocked? Here's Why & What You Can Do

WhatsApp Business Efficiency: How to Introduce WeChat Enterprise Core Business Functions into WhatsApp

A Chart Tells You the Difference Between WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business Number and WhatsApp API